Search Result for "fixation": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (4)

1. an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely;
[syn: arrested development, fixation, infantile fixation, regression]

2. an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone;
[syn: obsession, fixation]

3. the activity of fastening something firmly in position;

4. (histology) the preservation and hardening of a tissue sample to retain as nearly as possible the same relations they had in the living body;
[syn: fixation, fixing]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Fixation \Fix*a"tion\ (f[i^]ks*[=a]"sh[u^]n), n. [Cf. F. fixation.] 1. The act of fixing, or the state of being fixed. [1913 Webster] An unalterable fixation of resolution. --Killingbeck. [1913 Webster] To light, created in the first day, God gave no proper place or fixation. --Sir W. Raleigh. [1913 Webster] Marked stiffness or absolute fixation of a joint. --Quain. [1913 Webster] A fixation and confinement of thought to a few objects. --Watts. [1913 Webster] 2. The act of uniting chemically with a solid substance or in a solid form; reduction to a non-volatile condition; -- said of gaseous elements. [1913 Webster] 3. The act or process of ceasing to be fluid and becoming firm. --Glanvill. [1913 Webster] 4. A state of resistance to evaporation or volatilization by heat; -- said of metals. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

fixation n 1: an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely [syn: arrested development, fixation, infantile fixation, regression] 2: an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone [syn: obsession, fixation] 3: the activity of fastening something firmly in position 4: (histology) the preservation and hardening of a tissue sample to retain as nearly as possible the same relations they had in the living body [syn: fixation, fixing]